My invention relates to apparatus useful in exercising and, more particularly, to apparatus useful in bent-knee situps to secure the feet to a wall or the like above the floor level.
Bent-knee situps are also known as hip-flexed or right-angle situps. They are defined as any situp in which the hip is flexed preferably to ninety degrees with respect to the trunk, bringing the origin and insertion of the iliopsoas muscle into proximity, thereby nullifying its contribution to the act of sitting up.
Benefits of the bent-knee situp are twofold. First, situps performed in this manner more efficiently tone and strengthen the rectus abdominis muscle, i.e., that muscle responsible for a flat appearance of the abdomen. Second, bent-knee situps do not accentuate lumbar lordosis which contributes to malalignment of the vertebral column and low back pain. In fact, only bent-knee situps are recommended for patients with a history of back problems.
In bent-knee situps, the patient should lie on the floor on his or her back with knees bent at right angles with shins parallel to the floor. It is an objective of my invention to provide means to hold the feet in place against a wall, door or other vertical surface when the knees are so bent and when the shins are so positioned.
In other prior mechanisms for doing bent-knee situps, the person has hooked his or her feet under a bar or ledge and, as a result, the knee and hip are flexed forty-five degrees as opposed to the preferable ninety degrees. It is a further object of my invention to provide apparatus facilitating bending the knees at ninety degrees and positioning the shins parallel to the floor for doing bent-knee situps.
Other objectives include: to provide economical, well functioning apparatus adapted both for marketing factors, such as cost and packaging, and for operating considerations, such as ease of use, ease of installation, ease of foot attachment and detachment, etc.
My invention will be best understood, together with additional advantages and objectives thereof, when read with reference to the drawings.